Flood situation worsens in UP, Bihar’s Gandak still in spate

Ganga, Ramganga Inundate More Areas In 10 Districts

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Lucknow/Patna: Flood situation in western UP and Terai areas worsened on Monday with Ganga, Ramganga and Kosi rivers inundating more areas in around ten districts. Besides, 11 districts of east UP were also facing flood fury. In Bihar, Gandak had breached a newly-constructed bund over a stretch of 100 feet at Semaria village, in Barauli block, on Sunday morning. The breach widened on Monday. The bund was constructed after Gandak breached the main embankment on September 15. CM Nitish Kumar surveyed the flood-hit areas. Flood situation continued to be grim under Barauli block in Gopalganj district of Bihar, CM Nitish Kumar making an aerial survey of the flood-affected villages. On his return from Gopalganj, Nitish said flood water might enter Siwan and Saran if the water discharge from Valmikinagar barrage increases. Although the flooded Kosi in UP had started receding, NH 24, which connects Delhi to western UP, remained submerged. The Saharanpur-Dehradun national highway 72 and Muzaffarnagar-Hardwar NH 58 also remained under water. While many vehicles are stranded on these highways, traffic from Delhi to Lucknow is being routed through Budaun. Kosi and Ramganga in Rampur were flooded after Uttarakhand released 7.44 cusecs water from its Kalagarh dam. The Ramganga has also played havoc in two dozen villages of Bareilly where army was called to help in rescue operations. The river has also affected Bijnore and Farukhabad. Bijnore was also hit after large volume of water was released into the Ganga from barrages in Narora and Haridwar. Others districts affected due to floods in Ganga were JP Nagar, Muzaffarnagar, Farrukhabad and Bulandshahr. With Haryana releasing 7.44 lakh cusecs water into the Yamuna from Hathnikund, the UP braced for floods in Ghaziabad, Baghpat, Aligarh, Mathura and Agra by Friday. The Met office predicted more rainfall in west UP and Uttarakhand for next two-three days. In east UP, the districts affected by floods include Bahraich, Barabanki, Lakhimpur Kheri, Balrampur, Sitapur, Gonda, Basti and Azamgarh. FURY OF FLOODS Rain has wreaked havoc in the north, with lives lost and crops severely damaged UTTARAKHAND 700 villages with more than 30,000 people in Haridwar, Nainital, Udham Singh Nagar & Almora hit; 60 deaths so far Houses damaged due to landslides, cloudburst and incessant rain Rivers in spate: Ganga, Ramganga, Kosi Delhi-Dehradun and Delhi-Rishikesh NH closed; all link roads snapped State seeks Rs 5,000 cr from Centre UTTAR PRADESH 500 villages affected Worst-hit: Moradabad, Rampur and Bareilly in west UP and Bahraich in east UP 120 deaths; crops on 15L hectares damaged Rivers in spate: Ganga, Ramganga, Kewara and Kosi Kalagarh dam in Uttarakhand releases 7.44L cusec into Ramganga and Kosi NH 24 between New Delhi and Lucknow closed HARYANA 80+ villages in five districts affected; Hathnikund barrage releases 7.44L cusecs, a 32-year record, into Yamuna Yamunanagar-Saharanpur national highway under five feet water BIHAR 10 villages in Barauli block of Gopalganj flooded after massive release of water into Gandak by Nepal. Siwan, Saran face floods Despite 100ft wide breach in a bund, gushing waters of Gandak checked by raising road level